If your movers just finished unloading your entire life into your new home without leaving so much as a fingerprint on that antique armoire you got from aunt Mary, then yes, I’d have to say they deserve to be tipped. But how much? We’ve got our own ideas based on our experience dealing with thousands of moves.
Tipping a professional mover $20 – $80 is a pretty solid industry-standard but not necessarily a hard & fast rule.
Every move is different and movers perform at various levels of speed and safety. Some moves just take longer because of stairs, small doors and hallways, small or slow elevators or a long walk to the truck. If the movers finished 20 minutes faster than you expected and your goal was speed, each mover might deserve $30. On the other hand, if the move went longer than planned but your very favorite yin-yang coffee table made it to your new living room without a scratch, handing a $20 bill to each mover would be a great token of your appreciation. Keep in mind that these guys are usually putting in 10-12 hour days to hopefully get paid for only 5-8 hours actually moving.
On the other hand, if the movers you hire don’t leave you totally impressed by their service, DON’T feel obligated to give them a tip. By not tipping, you’ll actually help that crew to improve their service for future customers. Tipping movers that don’t deserve it only encourages bad moving companies to perpetuate the low-quality stigma the moving industry has earned over the last 30 years. Low Cost Movers fights tooth and nail to change the industry, but we need your help. Don’t tip under-performing movers.
Wait to tip your movers until they give you the final bill. You don’t want to hand $60 to 3 guys that barely deserve it only to then hear that your final total is $300 more than originally estimated. Unfortunately, last minute fees and surprise charges run rampant in the moving industry. Booking with Low Cost Movers saves our customers from last minute fees because we don’t have any (all pricing is set before the customer books). But if you didn’t happen to book your move through us, just make sure all charges are final before tipping.